Solomon Islands
800 Second Avenue, Suite 400L, New York N.Y. 10017, Tel: (212)599-6192, Fax: (212)661-8925
Website: http://www.solomons.com, Email:simun@solomons.com
PERMANENT MISSION OF SOLOMON ISLANDS TO THE UNITED NATIONS
Statement by Mrs. Helen Beck, Counsellor, Permanent Mission of Solomon Islands to the United Nations; At the 11th session of the OEWG on Sustainable Development Goals: Focus Area 12: Climate change, New York, 8th, May 2014
Thank you Co-Chairs,
My delegation commends and supports your leadership of the work you are doing on Sustainable development Goals and thank you for the text before us. We would like to see you continue with the method of work you are doing. We associate with Pacific SIDS and LDCs statements.
Co-chair, my delegation see, two overarching goals for the SDGs:
1. Healing the health of the planet and
2. Poverty Eradication
My intervention will be on Focus areas 12 on Climate change: Take urgent and significant action to mitigate and adapt to climate change.
My delegation commends you for your leadership on highlighting the importance of climate change with a dedicated goal and targets in the revised text. We cannot overemphasized the single most important threat to the future of humanity is climate change, and the urgency to address it is now in the SDGs and post 2015 development going forward. Preservation of the health of the planet secures sustainable development for all, which is linked to Climate Change. We must prevent the world from reaching the tipping point where climate change is irreversible and our future is undermined due to collective inaction. We now have that opportunity to make climate change a standalone goal as reflected in the text to ensure a sustainable pathway for the future we all want.
On the text, my delegation supports a standalone goal on climate change; and proposes to move the current (a) target in the current text to be the goal on climate change and instead of x degrees Celsius; we replace with 1.5 degrees Celsius and it would read as follows:
Goal: Stabilize increase in global average temperature below 1.5 degrees Celsius in accordance with international agreements.
This is the global average temperature that science is telling us to get to, in order to heal the health of the planet to stay alive and secure the future of humanity. The recent IPCC report confirms we are already at 3-5 degrees world, which sea level rise by a meter will wipe out 15% of the Pacific Islands. Vulnerable populations’ future must
800 Second Avenue, Suite 400L, New York N.Y. 10017, Tel: (212)599-6192, Fax: (212)661-8925
Website: http://www.solomons.com, Email:simun@solomons.com
be ascertained in the collective actions we take in the SDGs and the post 2015 development, in order not leave anyone behind. Mr. Co-Chair, targets must be science driven and sufficient to health our planet and sustain development. We propose to bring in our proposal raised in the 10th OEWG session to address the serious mitigation gap to be the new target (a) which read as follows:
a) Close the pre2020 mitigation gap on green house gas emissions by X GTCO2
My delegation strongly support the retention of the rest of the targets b, c, d, and-e to remain in focus area on climate change in the document with the view of being improved. On the means of implementation, we could like to see concrete commitments to address the climate change mitigation and adaptation activities.
Mr. Co-chair there can be no sustainable development without addressing climate change goal; we cannot promote other SDGs if they fall short of not guaranteeing humanity’s survival. I thank you.
Website: http://www.solomons.com, Email:simun@solomons.com
PERMANENT MISSION OF SOLOMON ISLANDS TO THE UNITED NATIONS
Statement by Mrs. Helen Beck, Counsellor, Permanent Mission of Solomon Islands to the United Nations; At the 11th session of the OEWG on Sustainable Development Goals: Focus Area 12: Climate change, New York, 8th, May 2014
Thank you Co-Chairs,
My delegation commends and supports your leadership of the work you are doing on Sustainable development Goals and thank you for the text before us. We would like to see you continue with the method of work you are doing. We associate with Pacific SIDS and LDCs statements.
Co-chair, my delegation see, two overarching goals for the SDGs:
1. Healing the health of the planet and
2. Poverty Eradication
My intervention will be on Focus areas 12 on Climate change: Take urgent and significant action to mitigate and adapt to climate change.
My delegation commends you for your leadership on highlighting the importance of climate change with a dedicated goal and targets in the revised text. We cannot overemphasized the single most important threat to the future of humanity is climate change, and the urgency to address it is now in the SDGs and post 2015 development going forward. Preservation of the health of the planet secures sustainable development for all, which is linked to Climate Change. We must prevent the world from reaching the tipping point where climate change is irreversible and our future is undermined due to collective inaction. We now have that opportunity to make climate change a standalone goal as reflected in the text to ensure a sustainable pathway for the future we all want.
On the text, my delegation supports a standalone goal on climate change; and proposes to move the current (a) target in the current text to be the goal on climate change and instead of x degrees Celsius; we replace with 1.5 degrees Celsius and it would read as follows:
Goal: Stabilize increase in global average temperature below 1.5 degrees Celsius in accordance with international agreements.
This is the global average temperature that science is telling us to get to, in order to heal the health of the planet to stay alive and secure the future of humanity. The recent IPCC report confirms we are already at 3-5 degrees world, which sea level rise by a meter will wipe out 15% of the Pacific Islands. Vulnerable populations’ future must
800 Second Avenue, Suite 400L, New York N.Y. 10017, Tel: (212)599-6192, Fax: (212)661-8925
Website: http://www.solomons.com, Email:simun@solomons.com
be ascertained in the collective actions we take in the SDGs and the post 2015 development, in order not leave anyone behind. Mr. Co-Chair, targets must be science driven and sufficient to health our planet and sustain development. We propose to bring in our proposal raised in the 10th OEWG session to address the serious mitigation gap to be the new target (a) which read as follows:
a) Close the pre2020 mitigation gap on green house gas emissions by X GTCO2
My delegation strongly support the retention of the rest of the targets b, c, d, and-e to remain in focus area on climate change in the document with the view of being improved. On the means of implementation, we could like to see concrete commitments to address the climate change mitigation and adaptation activities.
Mr. Co-chair there can be no sustainable development without addressing climate change goal; we cannot promote other SDGs if they fall short of not guaranteeing humanity’s survival. I thank you.
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